


Eyes Forward, Shoulders Back

by karrenia_rune



Category: ST: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Gen, community: femalegenficathon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-19
Updated: 2010-07-19
Packaged: 2017-10-10 16:14:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/101653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karrenia_rune/pseuds/karrenia_rune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else's whim or to someone else's ignorance." -- bell hooks</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eyes Forward, Shoulders Back

Disclaimer: ST:Deep Space Nine and all of the charactes who either appear here or are mentioned belong to UPN, Paramount etc; they are not mine.

"Eyes Forward, Shoulders Back by Karrenia 

No one ever said it was going to be easy; that it was a maxim that Kira Nerys had learned the hard way; first as a child in the camp during the Cardassian Occupation, and later as a member of Shakaar's resistance cell. In fact she had taken that old saying and twisted it around on its head, bending and shaping it like a lump of clay and turning it into a personal challenge.

As she paced the length and breadth of the area between Ops and the station commander's office, "I wouldn't be where I am today if I had let the challenges of the past get in the way of the challenges of the present. As much as I may sometimes disagree with Commander Sisko and by default what Star fleet have to say.', there are certainly benefits to having them around."

Riding close upon the heels of that particular thought she also came to the realization that had taken enough time to reconcile this within herself; that the presence of the Federation had not turned out as direly as many in the provisional government had feared; and granted while there still were more than a few holdouts from the old resistance days who believed that Bajor's present and its future would be best served if they were allowedto do so on their own, things change. Change was not necessarily wholly good or wholly bad; it was simply change.

Kira paused her pacing, peripherally aware of the whirring of the station's businesses going on all around her, the murmured hum of conversation of the duty crew working the late shift, and she realized that maybe, just maybe, that the Bajorans and Star Fleet could each other learn a thing or two about perseverance and overcoming challenges. For she knew, without having to be told, and without having to put too fine a point  
on it; that the challenges would not simply stop simply because the stakes in the game had changed.

She shook her head to relieve it of the inevitable cobwebs, reaching up to ran her hands through the tight strands of her auburn hair and muttered aloud, "I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody's else's whim or someone else's ignorance."

From her duty station, the Trill Science Officer, Lieutenant Jadzia Dax turned her head and regarded Kira for a moment, before she said, "Is everything all right, Major?" she asked.

"Fine," replied Kira, realizing that if anyone who was not Bajoran or knew her as well as she had come to know herself, it would be Jadzia Dax. As a joined Trill the symbiont tucked inside of her body had been through eight lifetimes, counting this one. 'Yes," Kira thought with a wry smile curving her lips, "Jadzia would understand and she wouldn't be the type to gossip about Deep Space Nine's second-in-  
command wool-gathering when she supposed to be concentrating on keeping the place from falling apart.'

Jadiza nodded as if she could sense at least a little of Kira's mood "Good to hear, Major," she replied and returned her attention to the array of diagnostic displays flickering across the board in front of her. In the back of her mind she wondered if she should press Kira for further clarification of exactly how 'fine' she really was.

Everyone dealt with stress and the pressure and demand of command in their own way; and while when they had first met, Jadiza had considered the fiery ex-Bajoran resistance fighter too hot-tempered to be able to function with the strictures of command to be a good leader. Over the years Kira had surprised her, and everyone else.

Yes, she Kira had made her share of mistakes; ended up butting heads with Commander Sisko on more than one occasion when a situation went against what was good for Bajor and  
what was best for the Federation; the two would never be exactly compatible, but that was the whole point, it would always be a matter of give and take, of compromise.

Jadzia decided that directly after their duty shift ended she would invite Kira over to Quark's for a rakatajino: 'Wait, make that a double, and in the event that Kira refuses on the grounds of having too much to do, or not enough time to enjoy a little unwinding, well, then she thought,' I can very persuasive, when I put my mind to it.'

Kira caught the Trill's eye as she stepped down from the upper level and into the oval-shaped area of the nerve center of Ops, allowing a wry and rather self-conscious smile to make a sudden appearance on her own face, saying without words that she appreciated both Jadzia's unspoken acknowledgement of the emotional torrent within her and the other woman's discretion in letting her work itself out on her  
own. "Join me for dinner later, why don't you?" Kira quietly said.

"Of course," Jadzia replied. "You know how I hate eating alone."

"Well, you could always invite Dr. Bashir to join you." Kira smiled, and this one was a more genuineand wider one than the earlier efforts. The fact that the station's young Chief Medical Officer was well, a little beyond taken with lovely Trill was a fact that was not lost on anyone, including Jadiza and Dr. Bashir; that did not precisely mean that he stopped trying.

"He's, a little over-eager for my tastes, but he is cute," Jadzia replied and then grinned as a thought occurred to her. "Does this mean that you're buying?"

Kira winced and then shook her head. "Not with the rates that Quark charges for his rakatajino's."

"Okay, okay," Jadzia replied. "Fair enough."

"Jadzia?" Kira muttered as she turned away toward her own duty station and the view outside the curved windows where she could contemplate the quiet, uncrowded, uncomplicated view of Bajoran space. It had been quite some time before anyone aboard Deep Space Nine could afford to enjoy the luxury of this particular view.

Complications, problems and crisies would arise and they would deal with them as they came. and suddenly an old saying of Commander Benjamin Sisko came floating up from her memories: "One crisis at a a time; that's my motto." She smiled and turning back to look at Jadiza, Kira said. "Hey, thanks."

Jadzia simply nodded, knowing when to push further and when not to, before adding: "You're welcome."


End file.
